Morgan Stanley Lowers Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target to $78.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.88% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.87.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:GILD traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.61. 7,562,287 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,415,929. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.19. Gilead Sciences has a 52 week low of $64.63 and a 52 week high of $87.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 38.85% and a net margin of 20.89%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total transaction of $145,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 223.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.